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The Committee of Adjustment is a committee, made up of Hamilton residents chosen by City Council that deals with consents and minor variances.

A consent is often referred to as a land severance. The most common types of consent applications are for land severance to divide a parcel of land into two or more new lots or as a lot addition to an abutting property.

Examples of other consent applications may include, but are not limited to:

Mortgages over part of a property

Lease agreements in excess of 21 years

Easements for servicing and right of ways for access over one property in favour of another Validation of title to resolve conveyance oversights that contravene the Planning Act

Severance proposals may involve minor variance approvals. You can submit both applications at the same time for consideration by the committee.

Submit an application for Consent to Sever Land

Prior to submitting an application, it is strongly recommended that you contact the planner responsible for your particular area in order to determine the feasibility of your proposal.

The approximate total processing time for an application without an appeal is about 7-9 weeks.

Step 1 - Complete the application

This application form is to be used by persons or public bodies wishing to apply for the severance of land within the City of Hamilton. In this form, the term "subject land" means the land to be severed and the land to be retained.

In the case of an approved application, conditions may be imposed as requested by circulated agencies. For example a 5% park land dedication or cash in lieu thereof to the local municipality, a road widening dedication to the appropriate authority, and any other condition the Committee deems necessary.

The application form also sets out additional information such as technical information or reports that will assist the City in their planning evaluation of the consent application. To ensure the quickest and most complete review, this information should be submitted along with the mandatory information. In the absence of this additional information, it may not be possible to do a complete review within the legislated time frame for making a decision. As a result, the proposed severance application may be refused.

The fee is to be made payable to the appropriate Conservation Authority and you will have to pay the fee to the City upon request. We will forward the fee along with the application to the Conservation Authority.

Combined applications will only be charged at the highest rate. The Conservation Authority reserves the right to request additional fees should the review require a substantially greater level of effort.

Step 3 - Submit the application

You will need to submit the following:

Two (2) copies of the completed application form

Three (3) copies of the sketch or survey of the property must be submitted (one (1) full scale size and two (2) no larger than ledger size paper 11” x 17”)

Five (5) copies of the information/reports if indicated as needed when completing the sections of the application form. The nature of the information/reports varies with the type of land uses proposed, the existing land use and topographic features.

Application fee

Sketch map guidelines

If a survey plan of the subject property is not available, you can submit a sketch map with the minor variance application to provide clarification of the variance you are applying for.

You must provide the following details with your sketch map:

The true dimensions of the property for which the application is being made

The location and dimensions of all existing buildings, structures or uses on the subject property

The setback measurements from the lot lines to the existing or proposed building on the subject property such as front yard, rear yard and side yard setbacks. If applicable, the distance of building on neighbouring lots

Clearly demonstrate the difference between the existing building and the proposed addition (if applicable)

The location and name of the street should be shown

The location must be drawn to scale utilizing good drafting techniques

A scale and north arrow should be shown on the sketch

The committee reserves the right to reject sketches for insufficient or poorly presented information

The size has to be a minimum of 8.5“x 11” and a maximum of 11” x 17”

The application cannot be processed until it is considered to be complete. An application is considered to be complete when all of the above have been provided and the requisite sign has been posted on the subject lands and that all signage requirements have been satisfied.

You can submit the application, supporting documents and fee in person to: